Ebony The Hedgehog
by Lucy Labrador
Summary: A case of mistaken identity. Not an OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Ebony The Hedgehog**

**Chapter 1: Please Say He's Okay!**

_Please be okay, please be okay._

Rouge sat at the window, leaning her arms on the window sill, looking out into the distance, keeping a close eye on the far away, Eggman base. She could just see the tip of it, behind the hills and valleys, she could see the building where Shadow was fighting at that moment.

She had a horrible feeling that Shadow wouldn't pull through this time. That he would go too far as usual and kill himself, like he had done on the ARK. Of course, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails were with him too, but Shadow hardly ever listened to them, so even if they tried to stop him from doing something crazy, he'd do it anyway.

She watched for hours, to see if they were returning or the base collapse. She hoped with all of her heart that Shadow was ok. She squinted her eyes, to keep watching the base, it was too far away to see any detail. So, she looked for her binoculars that were in her set of drawers, she didn't have to go far, it was in the same room.

Now she had a better look. She could see the base much clearly now, even if it was only the top half of the huge tower. She cringed as she saw windows breaking and walls crumbling.

_Please, don't get hurt._

Then, she could see them, there was a huge hole in the side of the building, and they were in the room that hole was created. She could see Shadow. Her heart lifted when she saw that he was still standing, but he looked hurt, already, and the battle wasn't even half won by the looks of it.

She watched closely and tensely at what was happening, watching and hoping so deeply,

_Don't do anything daft Shadow._

**Knock Knock!**

Rouge gave a little jump at the loud banging that came from her door. Her muscles slightly shaking from her worry for Shadow, she walked over to the door and opened it. It was Amy, and she looked just as afraid as Rouge. Rouge waved her hand, beckoning for Amy to come inside, her friend entered the house. "Rouge… I'm so worried… what if they don't make it, what if I lose Sonic?" Amy said, getting tears in her eyes.

Rouge was silent for a while, looking to the window again, it was getting dark outside, so it would now be harder to see what was going on at the battle. "I feel the same, Amy. I know what Shadow's like, and I have a feeling he's not going to come back in one piece." Rouge said to her.

"The same with Sonic, he always wants to look like the hero, he may go too far." Amy said, running over to the window and picking up the binoculars Rouge had left on the sill. Rouge stood behind her, waiting to hear if Amy would say something about what was happening. "It looks like Eggman has a new weapon… it's a new robot." Amy said, not sounding surprised.

"It's a real shame they don't have the emeralds, or this would have been over by now." Rouge said, feeling herself go dizzy with worry.

_Don't get yourself killed, please.._

She heard Amy gasp. "There all leaving!" She exclaimed. She saw Tails fly off the high tower, Knuckles glide off and Sonic jump from platform to platform to get to the ground safely. "But… not, Shadow." she said anxiously, awaiting Rouge's reaction.

Rouge snatched the binoculars off Amy in a snap and looked through them, but now it fully dark. She could only see the outline of the base in the white moonlight. Her hands began to shake, what was Shadow going to do? She dropped the binoculars, they were useless, all they could do was wait.

Then, there was a flash so bright the light reached the house, the two of them covered their eyes for a few seconds, then looked again to see the base crumbling. Rouge picked up the binoculars again, hoping the bring explosions could help her see whether Shadow was okay.

She saw nothing of Shadow, just rubble falling to the ground, behind the hills, now unseen. She started to cry.

_What's happened to him!_

She grabbed Amy and hugged her tight, the both of them in tears. They had not yet even see the others, what if they were ALL engulfed by the explosion. Now they would have to do the hardest waiting or all of their life. Not letting each other go, hoping that their boys weren't dead.

**Knock Knock Knock!**

They pulled apart and Rouge ran to the door, turning on the light in the room. She opened the door to see Sonic, Knuckles, Tails… but not Shadow. She fell to her knees shaking.

_Please say he's ok… please, don't say he's dead. PLEASE!_

She began to cry then Sonic began to say those horrible, awful, terrible words. "R-Rouge, we think Shadow may be…

dead."

She felt as if the times she had with Shadow flashed before her eyes. As if it was the end of her own life, although, it was the end of her life with him. From meeting him, to becoming friends and the lovers, and the words she said to him before he'd left the house to go to that awful battle that could have taken his life.

Those words, those very important words, that affected both her and Shadow, but no longer Shadow. She would never see him again, and she would have to do this alone.

**You'll find out what 'this' is in later chapters.**

**Lucy Labrador**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ebony The Hedgehog**

**Chapter 2: Confirmation of Survival or Death**

It was time to search for a body, something Rouge couldn't have done, it was too painful. If she were to find his dead body, it would make his death so much harder. Amy had gone out too, leaving Rouge all alone. She felt the best thing to do would be to sleep to pass the time, it was now very late anyway.

At least now, she had hope, after all, Sonic did say he _might _be dead. It means they hadn't seen him after he destroyed the base, therefore, he could have secretly escape.

She got into bed, still shaking a little, she was still very nervous. This search would determine Shadow's survival or death! He couldn't leave, not after everything they'd been through, not after what had happened before he left before the battle.

Perhaps, he was making his way back to the house right now! Maybe they were searching the fallen building, not to notice him get up and return home. Why not! She got out of bed and ran to the living room window again, she looked to see if she could see anyone coming towards the house. No one.

She sighed, beginning to cry again and walking back down the hall and into her bedroom again. She lay under the covers of her bed and curled up. Perhaps she could wait at least ten minutes and then check the front again, if she wasn't asleep by then.

Why did he have to do this to her? Why did Sonic have to come knocking on that door telling Shadow that Eggman was trying take over the world again? What a moment for it to happen too! They were experiencing, possibly, one of the happiest times of their lives and it was taken away and turned into a massacre.

Rouge's heart was beating quickly, she looked at the clock, it had only been one minute!

_Why is time going so slowly!_

_Because you could find out one of the most important things on your life very soon. Is he alive or is he dead!_

"I can't take this anymore!" Rouge cried out. This was driving her insane. She had to sleep to pass the time before she went completely out of her mind! She went to the kitchen and looked in one of the drawers. There were a few sleeping pills in there. She popped a few of them out and got herself a glass of water.

_Wait! What if I'm out cold and they return with the news?_

_But what if they don't return until morning? Am I really going to put myself through this mental torture until morning?_

She left the water and pills on the table and went back to the living room to look out of the window. She banged her fist against the sill, there was no one coming back, not even Sonic and his friends, not even Amy!

She turned around and brushed everything off of the coffee table in a rage, many magazines dropped to the floor, even a picture of her and Shadow. He fell to her knees, sobbing her eyes out. She then noticed the picture on the floor and picked it up.

Luckily the glass in the frame hadn't broken because it fell from a short height and onto a soft carpet, despite the force Rouge had used. She curled up on the floor leaning her back against the front of the sofa, sitting and looking at the photo. Looking into Shadow's eyes as if it were really him, his emotionless eyes. "Shadow, are you okay?" she said to the photo, wishing she could get an answer, she knew she wouldn't.

_Why couldn't Sonic and others searched for Shadow before they came here and told me he could be dead! At least Amy would still be with me then and I wouldn't be alone and I'd have more hope! This is horrible! _

She began to cry again. Her mind and heart breaking down as she looked at the clock to realise only five minutes had passed since she had last looked at the time. She was about to scream out with frustration, but it was caught in the back of her throat, she was crying too much to scream. Instead it came out as loud sobs.

"SHADOW!" she called out, screaming out his name at the top of her voice, hoping he would hear and come running for her like he always used to when she needed help or just wanted to be with him. But no one came. Not even Sonic, not even Amy, they still hadn't returned yet.

She looked over to the door, staring at it closely, maybe if she was to concentrate enough, Shadow would come through the door!

_Please!_

**Knock Knock Knock Knock!**

Rouge got up and ran to the door, still in tears.

_Please be Shadow, please be Shadow! _

She swung the door open and looked outside hopefully. She saw who was at the door. There was Knuckles and Tails standing solemnly on either side of Sonic, who held Shadow in his arms. He was in such an awful state, covered with cuts, bruises, his bones were snapped in many places, he was only a broken mess compared to what he was before. "Oh, Shadow… will he be okay?" Rouge said, looking at his face, at least, what she thought was his face.

They were all silent.

From the state Shadow was in and the awful silence she could hear, Rouge only knew one things. Shadow, was definitely dead.

She fell to her knees once again, she had received the bad news again, only this time it was certain. Shadow. Was. Dead.

**Lucy Labrador **

**A response to an Anon, Winter Muffin: Yes, you can call me that. ;) And thanks, I agree. That first story was awful, and look at me now. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Ebony The Hedgehog**

**Chapter 3: Is It My Fault?**

They wrapped up the dead body of Shadow in a large white cloth. Rouge was sobbing her eyes out while they did so. Amy comforted her while they did this. "Why did this have to happen! Why now!" Rouge said, although her words weren't fully clear since she was crying hard. "Isn't there a way we can bring him back?" she said desperately. "He's the ultimate life form, he should be able to come back!"

They all shook their heads. "Please! But we need him! Why is he even dead anyway! Why did you leave him to defeat Eggman by himself!" she said angrily.

"We didn't, we all stayed to defeat Eggman, he was just the unlucky one." Sonic snapped back.

"No way Sonic." Rouge hissed. "I saw what happened! You all ran away and Shadow stayed to defeat him alone!" she walked up to them in anger. They all started to look nervous. "What ever happened to team work!" she screamed and started to hit Sonic in rage.

Amy pulled her back and calmed her down. "I know… they left Shadow behind, but you know how he is, wanting to do things by himself." she said, keeping her back from Sonic.

"But… after, everything he's gotten lately, why would he want give up his life?" Rouge sobbed. "Was he afraid? Did I scare him with what I told him before he left?" she said, shaking uncontrollably. "Did I cause him to do this to himself?"

"No Rouge, you didn't! No matter what you said to him before he left to go and fight, you didn't make him give up his life! Shadow wouldn't do that!" Amy said urgently.

"Wait, what did you tell him before I called for him to help us?" Sonic asked. Rouge stayed silent and walked out of the room looking even more upset, if that was even possible. Amy went running after her. "Guys, I think something important was going on between her and Shadow, we have to bring him back." Sonic said.

"Yeah, but how?" Tails added.

"With the master emerald." Knuckles answered. "If we don't, Rouge may hate us forever." he said seriously. It was decided, they would try to bring Shadow back, after all, it was the only way to make Rouge happy again.

"So, how will this revival work?" Sonic asked quietly, not wanting Rouge to hear. If she was to know what was going on and the revival didn't work, she may have been even more heart broken.

"Well… we're going to have to lay Shadow on the Master emerald, or, what's left of him, and… I'll take it from there." Knuckles said. He knew how to bring people back and use the power of Chaos with the master emerald. It was decided. They picked up Shadow's body that was wrapped in the cloth and left the house before Amy and Rouge were to notice.

In Rouge's bedroom, Rouge was sat curled up on her bed, still crying, hugging one of her pillows while leaning against another. Amy was sat on the edge of the bed to comfort her as always. She was unsure of what to say, what could she say? Shadow was gone, not coming back and Rouge would be all alone.

She knew the relationship between Rouge and Shadow was serious, they lived together, they always spent time together and there was this important thing Rouge had told Shadow. "How am I going to live now? There's going to be a funeral and everything, I don't think I'll be able to stand it." Rouge choked through her tears. "Why did he do that to himself?"

"Don't get yourself into that again Rouge, all we know is that it's not your fault. We all know that Shadow jumps into things, and that he ends up sacrificing himself a lot." Amy said.

"Maybe… he isn't dead… after the fall from the ARK, he recovered, right? Maybe he'll recover from this…" Rouge said, she got up and ran into the living room where Shadow's body was, the last time she'd seen it.

Amy heard a scream come from the living room and went to investigate. When she went into the room, she felt as if she could scream too, with anger. "Those boys! What do they think they're doing! Let's go and find those spineless idiots!" Amy exclaimed, she grabbed Rouge's wrist and they ran out of the house to find the three of them and Shadow's body.

They felt that the best place to look would be somewhere in the mystic ruins, preferably the floating islands. So, that's where they headed. Rouge was so determined to find Shadow's body, she was able to fly Amy there as well as herself. There, they found the boys exactly where they thought they would be. They were surrounding the master emeralds and to Rouge's horror, they were laying Shadow's sacred body on top of if. "What are you boys doing!" Amy yelled angrily. They all swept the heads around to see a furious looking Amy and Rouge, who looked horrified.

"You two weren't supposed to know about this! Why did you follow us!" Sonic looking nervous.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to try to bring him back?" Rouge said tearfully. "You said back there that you couldn't."

"We didn't want to get your hopes up, we don't even know if this will work." Knuckles said. "Just… stand back, everyone, I'm going to try, just try not to get your hopes up." he said.

Sonic and Tails walked over to Amy and Rouge and they all stood back to watch. Amy gave Sonic a smack over the head while they were at it. Knuckles started up a chant and the master emerald started to glow, brighter and brighter until there was an explosion of light, similar to the one they had seen when the Eggman base fell. They all stood in a tense silence, Rouge biting her lip and holding her fists tight in hope, Amy holding onto Sonic in hope also.

The flash ended and the light dimmed down. Shadow's body was no longer decapitated but all in one piece. He would need some new gloves but his shoes had stayed in tact. Tears started to fall from Rouge's eyes.

_Is he back? _

Shadow's eyes opened and he sat up, looking around with a serious but confused expression, he didn't say a word. He looked at Knuckles then around to the others. He didn't change his expression when he saw Rouge like they expected. He jumped down onto the floor, still looking unsure about himself. He looked down at his body, lifting his hands to look at them also, then turning around to the emerald to see his reflection. He gave a shocked look when he saw it.

_What's he doing, what's wrong with him?_

Then Rouge heard Shadow say the words that would only make this situation either just as bad or possibly so much worse. "Where am I? Who am I and who are all of you?"

They all gasped and realised the worst had happened, Shadow had amnesia again.

**Lucy Labrador**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ebony The Hedgehog**

**Chapter 4: I'm not Shadow**

Rouge started to sob again, running over to Shadow and hugging him tightly and lovingly. Shadow, however, had different ideas. "W-what! Get off of me!" he yelled harshly and pushed her away. "I don't even know you people!"

"Do you even remember your own name?" Rouge choked out through her tears. Shadow shook his head.

"Well, let's give him a hint, shall we? Have a look at your fur colour and it may give you a clue." Sonic said walking a little closer to Shadow. He did just that, noticing his fur was dark.

"Hmm, it's a kind of ebony colour, is that my name?" he asked. Rouge was about to answer with a firm no, he was not Ebony, he was Shadow, her Shadow! But again, he had different ideas. "It doesn't matter, I like the name, I'm going to keep it. I don't care what my name was before, I'm called Ebony now." he said confidently.

"Aww… man!" Sonic exclaimed. Rouge looked back at him with fiery eyes, Sonic had caused this.

"Couldn't you have said that his name is Shadow… or not said anything at all?" Rouge yelled in anger. Ebony- or Shadow, started to walk away from Rouge as he had her backed turned. Rouge turned her head to notice that he was going. "Shadow! Stop!" Rouge said and ran over to him. He was ignoring her. "Shadow!" Shadow swung around to face Rouge in a split second.

"I'M NOT SHADOW!" he yelled at the top of his voice, fury in his eyes. "And I don't know you so leave me alone!" he added, still shouting.

"But, you do know me… or… you did… at least come home, please." Rouge pleaded, tears in her eyes like they had been all day.

"No, I'm not the Shadow you knew anymore, I'm someone else! I should be a stranger to you now!" he said harshly.

"But you're not a stranger to me Shadow, please." Rouge said urgently.

"However, you're all strangers to me and I'm not coming home with you. I have a new life now." he argued and began to walk away again. Rouge ran over to him and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back. "Get off of me!" Ebony said callously and aggressively, he pushed Rouge to the floor.

"Right, that's it Shadow! Snap out of this!" Sonic said, running over to him and blocking his path. Sonic saw Shadow's eye twitch when he called him that name. "That's right, you're Shadow, not Ebony, you're our friend and you're not leaving!" he said, standing his ground.

Shadow was silent, looking at Sonic with a hard tone. "Don't you remember anything? Not even me?" silence. "Not even Maria?" Sonic said while cringing.

At that Shadow hands dashed to the sides of his heads and he clutched himself tightly, his eyes closed tensely. He let out a few growls of pain, he fell to his knees in pain. "Shadow!" Rouge cried out and ran over to him to help him. She put his hands on his shoulder but Shadow pushed her away.

"For the last time I'm not Shadow, I'm Ebony and stay away from me! All of you!" he said, he got up and started to run away from them all. Getting off of the floating island and leaving them all behind.

"Sonic, only you're fast enough to catch him!" Rouge said with pleading eyes. Sonic zoomed off in the direction Shadow had fled to. After not so long, he found him on the floor in pain again, curled up and clutching his head in agony again.

"Sha-… I mean uh… Ebony… are you ok?" Sonic said softly, bending down by him.

"No, I'm not okay you idiot… I feel as if my head could explode right now… this is all your fault… you mentioned that name…" he struggled to say. "That girl… Maria… she won't get out of my head…" he said, beginning to shake. "This is too much… help me blue hedgehog!" he said, looking at Sonic with wide eyes full of pain. Ebony grabbed Sonic by the shoulders as he begged him.

"Dude… just calm down, I know who Maria is… but you may not like what you're going to hear." Sonic said calmly and seriously.

"Just… tell me… this is killing me…" Ebony shook.

"Maria is-"

**[Flash Back]**

Running down the corridors, gunshots, screaming. Trying to escape. More running with a young human girl. Dead end, escape pod. "MARIA!"

GUN soldiers bursting into the room, bullets piercing her beautiful body, falling to earth in the escape pod.

**[End Flash Back]**

It wasn't very clear, this flash back, but Shadow got the idea. He knew who Maria was now, what happened her and why it was so painful to think about her. Sonic watched as Ebony slumped down, looking completely drained. "Maria…" he said, grieving his loss. "When was this?" he looked up at Sonic, sadness in his eyes.

"50 years ago." he said quietly. Ebony looked at himself again, "I know you may not look that old, but you are." Sonic explained. "You need to come home with us…. So we can tell you everything, maybe then you'll remember us."

Ebony only looked down to the floor and shrugged. "I don't know… I'm not this 'Shadow' person you know any more and I don't think I'll ever be him again… are you sure you want me?"

"No… I'm not sure that we want you… I _know _that we _need_ you. Especially Rouge." Sonic said, he held out his hand so he could help Ebony get up. They could see the rest of the group catching up with them slowly. "Now, you don't need to accept Rouge's love like you used to… Shadow-"

Ebony gave a snarl as he got up. "Fine… Ebony, but… you can't hurt her again… it's tearing her apart. You were someone important in her life and she was important in yours, just respect her until you get your memory back." Sonic explained. "We'll get you through this… I'm sure." he said and gave him a gently push so he would walk towards the group as they got even closer.

They all met about half way between them and then turned off to go back to Rouge and Shadow's house. They would all try their best to get Shadow's memory back until he was back to normal again.

**Lucy Labrador **


	5. Chapter 5

**Ebony The Hedgehog**

**Chapter 5: Recovery of First Memories**

Ebony looked grim as they all walked back, there was silence amongst the group, nobody spoke, they were all too afraid to. Ebony was somewhat more vicious than Shadow but that was because he was uncomfortable with these people, he felt as if he didn't know them. The group just annoyed him, he wanted to be alone for the rest of the new life, not making friends with people he didn't like.

"So… _Ebony_… you're fast at running, wanna race back to the house?" Sonic asked playfully in a challenging tone. Ebony scoffed and looked away. "What's wrong, are you afraid you'll lose?"

"No, not at all. I'd race you to the house if it weren't for one thing." Ebony said coolly. Sonic looked at him confusedly, Ebony bared his fang like teeth. "Do you even have a brain? I don't know where this house is!" he roared.

"Oh right, of course. How silly of me." Sonic chuckled. "No need to be like that…" he added in a lower tone. "When we get back, we'll have a race elsewhere, sound good to you?"

"No." he replied plainly.

"No? But Shadow… you always used to race me." Sonic whined. "You're no fun any more." Sonic huffed and walked further away from Ebony.

They got back to Shadow and Rouge's house. It was a little cottage in a quiet area. "So, Shadow, does this house give you any memories? Does it mean anything to you?" Rouge asked, standing close to him as he stood in the middle of the living room.

Ebony walked forward sneering. "Ha, not at all… this place means nothing to me at a-AAHH!" his words turned into a yelp as he tripped over the rug, the tip was sticking up, he fell down and hit his stomach on the tip of the coffee table. Rouge gasped in shock, seeing him get hurt, she bent down beside him.

Ebony was bent over in pain. "I hope that didn't hit one of my internal organs…" he groaned, getting up. "I knew I should have gotten rid of that rug…" he growled.

"Wait, but… I thought you didn't know this house…" Rouge said sounding confused. Shadow looked confused himself. "You've done that before you know… did falling over again remind you of this place?"

Ebony ran into the hallway and looked around all of the rooms, he came back in looking enlightened. "I remember this house." he said. They all cheered. Rouge ran over and hugged him tight, Ebony still resisted. "But I don't remember any of you!" he yelled. This wiped the smiles off their faces. Rouge pulled away looking disappointed.

"Wow Ebony, you're even worse than Shadow when it comes to killing the mood." Sonic joked. "Why can't you just be nice, we're all trying to help you here." Ebony still looked at him with hatred. "How about we have that race now, perhaps that will make you feel better." Sonic walked over to the door and Ebony followed calmly, the two of them went outside.

Amy walked over to Rouge to see if she was ok. "Why did this have to happen? Shadow's already gotten amnesia once before, but he wasn't this cranky then." Rouge said, tears were falling from her eyes again. "What if it takes years for him to fully get his memory back?"

"Well, then that's how it will be, it'll be okay, as long as he get it back eventually, right?" Amy said. Rouge sighed with frustration.

"But, we don't have years, I need him to be back to his usual self soon." Rouge said urgently.

Sonic and Shadow had already started their race outside. "So, does my speed surprise you Ebony?" Sonic said, in his usual joking tone.

"Not as much as my own speed surprised me." Ebony said, looking ahead in full concentration as if his wasn't used to going this fast.

"You'll get used to it… but you'd better get a move on, I'm not even warmed up yet." Sonic said and sped ahead. Ebony looked ahead in mesmerisation, Sonic had created a sonic boom, he was moving faster than the speed of sound. This moment of awe was interrupted as Ebony tripped once again, falling to the ground and skidding across it, getting covered in dirt.

Sonic realised that Shadow had fallen behind and ran back to find him on the floor. "Shadow! Are you okay?" Sonic exclaimed running towards him.

"I'm sorry, but there is no Shadow here." Ebony growled, getting up and brushing the dirt off of himself.

"You seem to be falling a lot today…" Sonic teased.

"That was all your fault I fell this time… Faker." Shadow said, turning away from him in a mood.

"Faker?" Sonic said in surprise. "Shadow! I know you're in there!" he said tapping on Ebony's head. Ebony shifted away growling at Sonic. "Only Shadow calls me Faker…"

"Faker…" Ebony said, falling into another flash back.

**[Flash Back]**

Shadow was in the jungle on prison island, in a hurry to get off the island before it would explode. Only, there was one thing that was stopping him, Sonic. "That blue hedgehog again of all places." he said in frustration.

"I found you, faker!" Sonic said, pointing at Shadow with determination. This caught Shadow by surprise.

"Faker? I think you're the fake hedgehog around here. You're comparing yourself to me? Ha! You're not even good enough to be my fake!" Shadow said arrogantly. They both made a dash for each other. This battle needed to be over very soon.

Running and battling, they would have to prove who was the fastest and strongest.

**[End Flash Back]**

"Faker… you… I remember you…" Ebony said with wide eyes, staring into space. "Sonic?" he said in a quiet voice looking at him in hope.

"Yes… you remember me. That's great Shadow!" Sonic said and patted Shadow the back.

"That still doesn't mean you can call me that! I'm Ebony now, nothing else." Ebony said harshly. They started to walk back to the house to tell the rest of them to good news.

**Lucy Labrador**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ebony The Hedgehog**

**Chapter 6: Ebony's Rage**

"That's great!" came Rouge's voice when Sonic and Shadow returned to tell everyone the good news. Ebony was one step closer to becoming the Shadow they knew again. He remembered his own house and who Sonic was. Rouge began to wonder what it would take to get Shadow to remember her.

Once everyone got over the excitement, Rouge went over to him nervously. "Shadow…?" she said, sadness in her voice. Ebony looked at her, hatred in his eyes. Rouge stepped back in fear, what was wrong with him?

"For the last time woman! I. Am. Not. Shadow!" he roared in her face. He was about to beat her but Knuckles pushed Rouge out of the way and caught Ebony's fist.

"If you hurt her again, you're going to pay, Shadow! I swear!" Knuckles threatened. Ebony kicked him in the stomach and broke free from Knuckles' grasp. Unfortunately, Knuckles was able to punch him in the back for pay back. Ebony gave a cough and a wheeze, he spluttered and fell to the floor.

"Oh… that's it!" Ebony yelled, getting up in fury.

"Oh, what are you going to do to me you? You can't hurt me Shadow, and even if you do, I'll whack again, only harder!" Knuckles said, holding up his fists.

"That's not what I was planning on doing…" Ebony said angrily. "I've had it with you all! If you were all my friends, you wouldn't be annoying the sanity out of me! I'm leaving!" he yelled an ran to the door. Unfortunately for him, Sonic was quicker and was able to block his exit. "Get out of my way Sonic!" Shadow yelled.

"No Shadow, you have to stay here until you get back your memory?" Sonic said, standing his ground. Knuckles came up from behind and pulled Shadow back.

"What are you doing! Get off of me!" Ebony cried out. He was pushed onto the sofa. "You just don't get it, do you? I don't want to be here! I'm not this Shadow person you knew before!"

"But you are Shadow, and we have to get you back!" Rouge said sadly. "Please Shadow, I know you'll remember me… just try your best to remember me…" she stood in front of him in hope that he would remember at least something about her. She saw Shadow look at her with a bored emotion. "Do you even know my name?" she asked.

"No." he said callously, not caring about hurting her feelings.

"It's Rouge!" she exclaimed. Still nothing. "Oh! It's useless!" She cried out, turning away from Shadow.

"Shadow! Don't you care about her feelings at all!" Sonic shouted angrily. Ebony had, had it.

"I'm not Shadow! I'm EBONY!" He flipped the coffee table over in a rage. The photo of him and Rouge went flying and hit the wall, the glass smashing and breaking.

Knuckles was fuming, Ebony had gone too far! He ran over to the heartless hedgehog and grabbed him by the neck with both of his hands. "That's it Shadow! I'm going to teach you a lesson for upsetting Rouge!" he said aggressively, shaking Shadow harshly. Shadow looked at him, fear in his eyes, what was going to happen to him now?

Then he remembered who this was. "Kn-Knuckles… please… stop… I'm sorry ok… just… s-stop…" he said and fear, trying to break free. Knuckles' eyes widened. "You… remembered my name… do you remember me Shadow?" he asked, letting go of him. Shadow dropped to the floor, breathing heavily, catching back his breath. He nodded his head. "That was unexpected." he said, standing over Shadow.

Meanwhile, Rouge was picking up the broken picture, she picked up all of the pieces of glass and took the photo out of the frame. "I remember you… we haven't talked much, but there was that one time…"

**[Flash Back]**

Shadow and Knuckles were sitting by the master emerald, just the two of them and Knuckles was telling Shadow all he knew about chaos. Shadow had a lot to learn, sure he could use the power of chaos but he didn't know everything. "Well, Knuckles, I didn't realise you had so much knowledge on this subject… I guess I was wrong to judge you." Shadow said calmly.

"I was wrong too Shadow, you're not all bad." Knuckles smirked. Shadow smirked back and they shook hands.

**[End Flash Back]**

Shadow sat back down on the sofa with wide eyes. Getting that flash back also gave him all of the lost knowledge he once had of the chaos emeralds and chaos powers. "Choas…" he breathed. He looked up at everyone in confusion.

Rouge was now stood at the back of the room feeling frustrated. Shadow was remembering everyone but her. What would it take for him to remember her? Would she have to start shaking him, or trip him up?

"Wow, Shadow! It looks like you're going to remember most of us by the end of the day if we keep going at this rate." Sonic said with a smirk.

"I'm not Shadow!" Ebony growled out, leaping for Sonic but Knuckles got a hold of Ebony's arm and he jolted back and went plummeting back onto the sofa.

"We've been calling you Shadow ever since we met you, of course we're going to make that mistake! Stop going crazy on anyone who does!" Amy scolded him, knowing if he was going to try and attack her, Knuckles would be able to stop him. Ebony just scowled at her. "Shadow, this isn't right! You're upsetting all of us and we're you're friends, we're trying to do good for you but… you're just throwing it back in our faces…" she sighed.

Ebony started to look guilty, then found himself getting another flash back. They all watched as he was staring into space, as if he were in another world. He soon snapped out of it, shaking his swiftly. "You… Amy? You taught me… what was right… and stopped me from… destroying this planet…" Ebony said.

"That's right." Amy said with a smile. "He remembers me." she said happily, but then saw Rouge looking sad in he corner of the room holding the damaged photo of her and Shadow, this wiped the smile off of her face.

Rouge felt her heart break more and more, how much would Shadow have to remember before he remembered her?

**Lucy Labrador **


	7. Chapter 7

**Ebony The Hedgehog**

**Chapter 7: Favourite Food**

It began to get dark outside, Rouge had a shower and got ready for bed. The others decided that they would go home for the night until they realised that Ebony wasn't all that friendly and could hurt Rouge. Sonic decided to stay, which meant Tails wanted to stay with him. Knuckles and Amy went home for the night.

Ebony went into his room to get some sleep, but he noticed Rouge was on his bed, the bed that they used to share. He gave a growl and left the room. Rouge chased after him. "Shadow, don't leave, please… at least sleep with me for tonight… maybe it'll spark and old memory of me… please." Rouge pleaded.

"Why would I sleep with someone I don't know." Ebony said, still walking away from her. "Leave me alone." he added.

"All we'd be doing is sleeping in the same bed, nothing else, please Shadow!" she begged.

"I wish you people would stop calling me that, it's driving me insane! I'm not Shadow! How many times will I have to say that to you before you realise it!" Ebony yelled in her face. Hearing this, Sonic ran into the hallway where Shadow and Rouge were.

"That's it Ebony, back it up. Stop upsetting her like that." Sonic said, pulling Ebony away from Rouge slowly. "You can sleep in the guest bedroom with us, you know me, Shadow." Sonic smirked. There was a growl. "I mean, Ebony…" Sonic corrected himself nervously.

Rouge was so afraid, it was like she had completely lost Shadow. He was all gone and he hated her. She ran into her room to cry, Shadow may as well have stayed dead, this was worse than knowing he was dead, this was worse, he was treating her horribly instead.

Sonic looked at Ebony in disapproval. "Don't you have a heart. She is your girlfriend, treat her with respect." Sonic scolded him. "Or you you'll never get laid again." he joked.

Ebony's eyes twitched and his blood started to boil again. "What did you just say?" he hissed, as if he really couldn't take this any more. Sonic began to snigger, he was about to say it again. "Don't bother, I know what you said… but… _why_?" he said with frustration. Sonic walked into the living room again. "Why?" Ebony said again, as if he was losing the will to live.

"That's just Sonic, he's like that, he says things that don't need to be said and irritates people, especially you and Knuckles." Tails explained. "Just try and ignore the excessively stupid things he says and humour him when you think he's being serious." he added.

"Tails…?" Ebony said, as if a flood of memories just came back.

"Yes?" Tails asked.

**[Flash Back]**

Shadow stomped into Tails' workshop, growling in anger and frustration. Tails was working on one of his new inventions as always. Sonic was outside at that time, running. Tails noticed Shadow's anger without even having to look at him. "What's up Shadow?" he asked him, continuing to use his screw driver precisely.

"That… _Faker_…" he growled, tightening his fists and narrowing his eyes. "I just want to punch his stupid little face in!" he growled again, grinding his teeth.

"Don't let him get to you Shadow. I know he's annoying and doesn't take anything serious, but that's just who he is." Tails said. Shadow tilted his head with interest. Tails stopped what he was doing and looked at Shadow. "Sonic has always been like this, and if I didn't know how to keep my cool, we probably still wouldn't be friends any more." he continued to say. "Just… try and keep your cool, and think, you're better than him, you don't have to give into his attempts to tick you off… think about it." Tails finished and carried on with his work.

**[End Flash Back]**

"Thanks." Shadow said to Tails seriously and walked into the living room where Sonic had gone, Tails followed.

"So, shouldn't we head off to bed?" Ebony asked, the there was a large growl from his stomach. Ebony pretended it had never happened and started to walk towards the bedroom.

"Stop right there Ebony, you need something to eat, you sound starving." Sonic said and led him into the kitchen that was right by the living room. "What do you want? What's your favourite food?" Sonic asked. Ebony gave a sigh, then Sonic realised. "Oh right, you don't remember." he went to the freezer. "Judging by all of the frozen pizza's in here, I guess it's your favourite food is Pizza." Sonic said, looking at the piles and piles of pizzas.

"Hmm, I guess I'll try it." Ebony said. Sonic got two of them out and put them onto a tray and into the oven. Ebony sat at the table looking bored as he waited. He tapped his foot impatiently, he was more than ready to eat!

After 20 minutes, the pizzas were done. Sonic served them on two large plates and cut them up. "Not as good as chilli dogs but okay." he gave his opinion, leaving it the pizza on in the middle of the table so Shadow could grab a slice.

Shadow grabbed a slice immediately, his hand darting across the table and swiping a slice and shoving it to his mouth quickly. "I guess you were really hungry…" Sonic said, sounding slightly nervous, he's never seen Shadow eat with such an appetite before. Half of the large pizza was eaten by Shadow before Sonic and Tails could even finished one slice. They stopped in their tracks, watching Shadow down the rest of the first pizza. "I think it's definite, Pizza is Shadow's favourite food." Sonic said once Shadow finished the whole of the second Pizza, short of the two pieces Sonic and Tails still had in their hands.

**Lucy Labrador**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ebony The Hedgehog**

**Chapter 8: Important News**

The next morning, Sonic told Rouge what Shadow had remembered the night before, Tails and Pizza. When Rouge heard this news she became furious. "What's wrong?" Sonic asked, taken aback by her reaction.

"What's wrong!" Rouge yelled. Sonic cringed.

"Shh, Shadow and Tails are still asleep…" Sonic said.

"Not any more!" they heard Tails calling from the bedroom. Ebony was still sleeping heavily, his left arm and leg hanging off the side of the bed, snoring quietly.

"I'll tell you what's wrong, Sonic… Shadow remembers everyone but me! I'm his girlfriend, we were so close!" she complained.

"I know, how about you tell him that thing you told him before I called for him." Sonic said, feeling it was a bright idea. Rouge narrowed her eyes.

"No way… I don't know how he'd react, it might even scare him off." Rouge said.

"What is it any way?" Sonic asked. Rouge gave a scoff and walked away. "What? Is it something bad? Should I already know? What's going on?" he said in confusion, walking into the bedroom, giving up on Rouge.

He saw Tails getting up and tidying the bed as much as he could with Shadow still in it. He gave the covers a pull and Shadow, who was already half hanging off the bed, fell off. Sonic and Tails braced themselves for the rage that was about to follow. "Ugh! What's going on!" Ebony said, getting up in shock.

"Uh… you fell off the bed in your sleep." Sonic said nervously. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah…" Shadow replied calmly, rubbing his head. He walked out of the room looking tired. He walked into the bathroom, widened his eyes and backed out in a hurry.

"Shadow, it's okay… you can come in." he heard Rouge.

"But your…" He swallowed… "Indecent…"

"It's ok… you've seen me like this before." She smiled. "Please Shadow…" she urged. Shadow walked in with his eyes closed. "Shadow… open your eyes… it's fine…" she sighed.

Ebony opened his eyes nervously. Rouge was in fact, naked, and she was running a bath. "Do you want to join me?" Rouge asked, checking the temperature of the water with her hand.

"This isn't right…" Ebony gulped. "I don't even know you… I'm looking at a naked stranger…" he said nervously.

"But I'm not a stranger… Shadow, we're close… please… remember me…" she begged, walking over to him. Ebony pressed himself up against the closed door to get away, too afraid to open the door he had just closed behind him.

"Please… don't touch me…" Shadow said, trembling all over. Rouge turned away feeling truly annoyed. Ebony opened the door and left the room.

Half and hour later, Rouge found Shadow in the living room, still looking traumatised. When he saw Rouge walk into the room he got up from the sofa. "Shadow, stop acting like a baby. You're really hurting my feelings." Rouge said, anger in her voice.

Ebony was silent. "So… you seriously don't remember me at all?" Ebony nodded. "Do you even know my name?" she started to get annoyed. No answer. "I told you yesterday, it's Rouge!" she yelled. "Do you even remember what I told you before you left me and lost your memory?"

"How did I even lose it? No body's even told me that…" Ebony said. Rouge let out a growl of frustration.

"I told you something very important Shadow, then Sonic came knocking on the door, telling you that he needs help to defeat Eggman, so, you left and that's how you got yourself killed. Knuckles was able to bring you back, I thought it was brilliant to start with until I realised you'd turned into…this!" Rouge yelled, she couldn't take it any more.

"And… what was this important thing you told me?" Ebony asked. Rouge stayed silent, her arms folded in anger. Sonic and Tails came in to see why there was so much shouting, they stayed back in the hallway to watch quietly. "If it's really that Important, you'll tell me." Ebony said, getting angry.

"I don't think I can trust you." Rouge snapped. "You don't understand Shadow, this is big, and if you don't accept it… then I don't know what I'm going to do…" Rouge said, sounding sad at the end.

"Well… did I accept it before I lost my memory?" Ebony asked with a soft tone.

"You didn't have time… Sonic came a along as soon as I told you." She growled.

"Oh… so… can you tell me…?" Ebony asked, being nice all of a sudden. Rouge decided that he would tell him, it may be the only way it would bring his memory of her, back. She got him to sit down on the sofa, she felt nervous, she couldn't believe she had to do this again.

"Right… Shadow… I have something very important to tell you…" she said nervously, taking him by the hand. Shadow's eyes widened.

**[Flash Back]**

Rouge had Shadow sat down on the sofa, she had something important to tell Shadow. He was worried for exactly what it was she had to tell, was it bad news? She took him by the hand. "Shadow…" she said and paused, swallowing hard. Shadow's eyes widened, this was so suspenseful and he needed to know now! What was wrong? "I'm…-

**[End Flash Back]**

"Rouge!" Shadow cried out, leaning over and hugging her tightly. Rouge returned the hug.

"Does that mean… you remember me?" Rouge asked nervously.

"Yes… I remember everything now! I love you so much! I'm so sorry I got myself killed…" he said, tears streaming down his face.

"Shadow… it's not like you to cry…" Rouge said, starting to cry herself. But they were happy tears.

"I'm going to be a dad…" Shadow said, full of excitement. Shadow had his memory back fully now, and just in time too. He and Rouge were just about to got through a very important time in their lives.

Rouge was pregnant.

**And That's it for this story. Please review if you haven't already. **

**Lucy Labrador**


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